Even better: this one's for charity!
If you’re a Flywheel fanatic and Rihanna fan, I’ve got your double-time fix right here. Center City’s Flywheel studio is hosting a charity ride on Wednesday to benefit Court Appointed Special Advocates of Philadelphia (CASA), whose mission is “to train and support community volunteers to advocate for the health, safety and well-being of abused and neglected children.”
Flywheel will provide a rockin’ Rihanna playlist during your ride (“Only Girl in the World” is a perfect workout anthem), raffles for Lululemon and Athleta gift cards, and treats from Fuel. In exchange, you’ll cough up a $25 donation for CASA. That’s fair, right?
Register for the event by going to the CASA site and clicking “donate”; on the donation page, type in “Flywheel.” Just make sure to print out the page, which serves as your ticket to ride (rejoice in the reference, Beatles lovers.)
$25 donation, May 22nd at 7:30 p.m., Flywheel Center City 1521 Locust Street, Philadelphia.
>> Have a health or fitness event you’d like to share with Be Well Philly readers? Email eleaman@phillymag.com with details.
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Strap on your running shoes, find some open road, and go.
I’m loving the warm weather (when it’s not raining, of course) and am taking full advantage of being outdoors as much as possible these days. No matter where you live, you should be able to find a running trail, track, safe road, or just some open space to run around—because that’s all you’re going to need for this workout.
In light of the interval workout trend, which just got a nice little boost from the New York Times, here’s a challenging interval workout for runners to get you outside and moving. It’s fairly straight forward, I think—sprint/recovery repeats for each interval—but note that between each set, you’ll jog for three minutes to recover. Good luck!
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And it's sort of confusing. Also: expensive.
 I just got an email from the folks over at Rodale, the Emmaus-based publisher that puts out Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Prevention and more, touting a just-launched online store called Rodale’s (naturally) that offers “stylish, well-made and consciously curated items across most retail categories that include apparel; accessories and beauty; kitchen and garden; fitness; bed and bath; gifts and books; and general care.”
To be honest, all those retail categories confused the pants off me (like, does Rodale have a secret bedding magazine I don’t know about?), but it’s the prices that just had me choking on my lunch. For example, this organic cotton long-sleeve t-shirt is $80. This boxy scoop neck tee, made of a hemp-organic cotton blend, is $118, and this ultra-basic racerback tank is $60. There’s more: These (kind of ugly) jersey shorts are $80, and this shawl-like cardigan, again made of organic cotton, will set you back $190.
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A new roadblock for a popular Change.org petition.
 Since we’ve been following the Victoria’s Secret “survivor bras” saga for a few months now, we thought it fitting to let you know that … literally nothing is going to come of it. Wait, what?
The latest news is that Vicky’s won’t be making them after all. Womp woooomp. To jog your memory, 27-year-old Allana Maiden started a Change.org petition back in January to get support for her idea of a bra line specifically made for post-mastectomy bodies that’s both functional and beautiful. The petition was created in honor of her mom, Debbie, who had a mastectomy and wore a prosthetic, and found it difficult to find bras that fit correctly—much less look pretty. Allana aimed her efforts at Victoria’s Secret because she thought the idea was a good fit (pun intended) for the lingerie retailer; after all, they already had the pretty part down, so how hard could it be to peg the functionality?
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Learn the numbers Dr. Oz says can save your life
Cardiothoracic surgeon, author, and television personality, Dr. Mehmet Oz has five numbers that he thinks every American should know. Knowing these numbers, all pertaining to your personal health, is a good way to keep your health in check and stay in tune with your body. Dr. Oz says they are critical to your well-being, and knowing them can help increase longevity. Learn what these numbers are in this video. READ MORE
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Check out our slideshow of the amazing event.
Yes, yes, this weekend was gross—with a capital G. But the unrelenting rain couldn’t keep hundreds of local yogis from the Art Museum on Sunday morning for Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s annual fundraiser, Yoga on the Steps. We love the event because it marries all the good parts of a flashmob—hundreds of people doing the same thing, at the same time, in a very, very public location—with a really terrific cause. Living Beyond Breast Cancer is a national organization with local routes (it’s HQ’d in Haverford), with a mission to empower and offer support for those directly and indirectly impacted by a breast-cancer diagnoses—we’re talking women and men with the disease, plus their families, caregivers and friends.
Yoga on the Steps started in 2002 here in Philly, conceived of by local yoga instructor (and Be Well Boot Camp presenter) Jennifer Schelter. Now the event has grown to include stops in DC and Denver, too, as a way to raise money and awareness for the cause. Check out our photos from this year’s Philly event below.
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Plus: poop in public pools, a predicition on summer allergies, how bad restaurant food really is, and more.
• A lot of people have wondered what special arrangements—if any—would be provided to runners who weren’t able to finish the Boston Marathon last month. Now I have news on that front: Race organizers announced last week that the more than 5,000 runners who were stopped on the course after the bombs went off will be invited to register for the 2014 race. They’ll pay a to-be-determined registration fee. [Runner's World]
• Confirming every last fear you’ve ever had about public pools, they’re full of poop, a new CDC report says. [Live Science]
• Blerg: Think spring-allergy season is bad? Summer allergies might be worse, according to a sinus expert. [HealthDay]
• Check out this (fake) open letter to American consumers from the food industry. Best part: “Your superficial understanding of health has a great influence over your purchasing decisions, and we’re ready for it, whether you choose to go low-calorie, low-fat, gluten-free or inevitably give up and accept the fact that you can’t resist our Little Debbie snacks, potato chips and ice cream novelties.” [Scientific American]
• Le sigh: Restaurant food is worse than you think—much, much worse. [Women's Health]
Photo: fmua / Shutterstock.com
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Yup, I said it: Kale smoothies are old news, people. Here are 10 new things to toss into your smoothie for an extra health boost.
1. Aloe
True story: I was at lunch a few weeks back with Dave Magrogan, the owner of Harvest Seasonal Grill in Glen Mills and University City, and he mentioned that his favorite thing to add to smoothies is aloe. My mind? One-hundred percent blown. I’d never heard of this! Turns out, adding a bit of aloe juice is a good call after all, since it seems to aid digestion and immune function. I’ll drink to that.
Recipe to try: Orange Aloe Creamsicle Smoothie [via Young and Raw]
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A blogger on a mission created a swimsuit line to make attractive bikinis for curvy women.
Thanks to The Gloss for the heads up about a fab blogger named Gabi Gregg (a.k.a. GabiFresh), whose mission to help plus-size women embrace their curves turned into an awesome new collabo between Gabi and online swimsuit retailer Swimsuits for All.
Gabi’s been throwing around the term “fatkini” for a few years now, as part of her crusade to encourage body diversity in swimwear. Last summer, her effort culminated in a “fatkini” photo gallery, showing “31 hot sexy fat girls in skimpy swimwear.” The post landed her on the TODAY show, and got her all kinds of exposure on sites like the Huffington Post, latimes.com and more.
This year, Gabi’s back on the fatkini kick with a new bathing suit line inspired by her mission. The collaboration with swimsuitsforall.com features suits in sizes 8 to 34, and—get this—they’re actually good looking, too. In fact, that suits have been so popular that in the three days since their debut, most of the styles and sizes have already sold out. Awesome, right?
Check out this slideshow over at Teen Vogue to see a lookbook of all the styles.
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If all the two-wheelers around town today are giving you the biking bug, here are great resources to get you started.
Yes, yes, we heart bikes here at Be Well Philly. Not only are they a great way to get in a work out, they’re also super convenient when it comes to city living. If you’re itching to give cycling a try, here are a handful of resources—from maps to upcoming events to hairdos that can stand up to bike helmets (really!)—to get you spinning.
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